EUROPE’S post-war politics of liberal consensus are being torn apart by the rise of the extreme right across the continent – with Sweden the latest to embrace a so-called ‘populist’ anti-immigrant party in response to EU diktats on migrant quotas.

Sweden, for so-long a by-word for civilised government and social cohesion, frequently topping lists of the world’s most contented countries, had today joined Italy, Austria, and Germany in a huge lurch to the hard right.

Results of yesterday’s election saw the Swedish Democrats (SD) take amost 18 percent of the vote – potentially making them kingmakers in the forthcoming government.

Not much more than a decade ago the Swedish Democrats were a thuggish neo-Nazi, white supremacist group.

But they have been re-branded and re-invented by charismatic young leader Jimmie Åkesson – who leveraged EU-sparked concerns over immigration, jobs, and a damaged welfare system to garner mainstream acceptance and popularity, according to Magnus Blomgren, a social scientist at Umea University, Stockholm.

These issues, mostly pinned on migrants and refugees, have seen the traditionally left-leaning country join the many European nations asking questions of its leaders.

Mr Blomgren said: "Traditional parties have failed to respond to the sense of discontent that exists."

The Swedish Democrats, which formed in 1988, had its roots in xenophobic, white-nationalist circles and has been steadily gaining popularity on Sweden’s political fringes.

According to a report released by UK think tank Demos in August, which looked at the correlation between Swedish immigration and the EU's freedom of movement rules, voters have made a connection between these issues and the numbers of refugees entering the country.

The Sweden Democrats will not hold power because no other political party will work with them (Image: GETTY)

Jennifer Fitzgerald of the Washington Post wrote that violent incidents, including the mass burning of cars in Gothenburg last month and a rise in violent crime, were symptomatic of the fomenting unrest in the country.

Respected political website Politico reports that a rise in violent crime, associated with the influx of immigrants and refugees in the country, contributed to a loss of confidence for the ruling party, the Social Democrats, in the Scandinavian country, seeing Stefan Loven’s popularity dip for the first time in years.

Sweden has been regarded as a champion for liberal values for the last 40 years - but according to today’s results, although the Social Democrats are clinging to power, support for the party has clearly slumped.

Across Europe, far right sensibilities have been taking hold with Germany, Italy and Hungary, among those nations angry over EU migration and refugee policies.

Sweden election: Stefan Lofven's party have faced opposition during the run up the elections (Image: AFP)

Germany is seeing a rise in support for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, an anti-immigration party whose supporters have been rioting across Germany in response to Angela Merkel’s open door migration policy which saw more than 1million refugees flock to Germany in 2015 alone.

And in Italy, the new coalition government has attacked the European Union and have fiercely opposed immigration, even turning away migrant ships as it seeks to preserve Italy “for Italians”.

But Political analyst Charles Ortel, investor and writer in economicsm and global politics, said that the growing change of consensus in Sweden represented a new shift in ideals for the country as growing unrest is becoming clear among voters.

Mr Ortel told Russia Today that the emergence of the party signified a popular change in values in the country.

He said: “Swedes are waking up to the first glimmer of hope. I think it has passed a tipping point. And I think we are going to have to be watching Sweden not simply in this coming week, but months and years ahead. It’s going to change either much for the better or much for the worse.

“This is a major-league referendum, not purely about migration but I think also about globalization... Globalization has helped some few Swedish companies but it really hasn't helped the average Swedish worker."

But the political analyst believes that the emerging Sweden Democrats may have been unfairly painted to be fascist by the mainstream media: “People who are not familiar with Sweden need to understand that from an American perspective, even Sweden Democrats is a left-leaning economic policy.

“But they have been raising valid concerns about the state of unvetted immigrants, the crime sprees, the terror attacks, and the wisdom of continuing this type of immigration policy.”